The Iloilo City Government on Monday, May 1, decided not to pursue an earlier plan to place the metropolis under a state of calamity after a three-day power interruption affecting Panay and Guimaras islands.

In a statement, Iloilo City Mayor Jerry P. Treñas said the city would no longer declare a state of calamity after the restoration of the power supply.

“Considering that power is 100 percent in all areas in the city up to now, we will place on hold the plan to declare a state of calamity due to the problem with energy,” Treñas said.

Treñas also expressed his gratitude to power generators, distribution utilities and the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) for ensuring the restoration of power at “full capacity”.

“It is my hope that this goes on from Tuesday, May 2, when offices are open and demand is increased,” he added.

The mayor on April 29 announced the option of declaring a state of calamity for the Department of Energy (DOE) to come in and initiate measures that will ensure a stable power supply should there be no solutions in sight.

More Electric and Power Corporation (MORE Power), a distribution utility in Iloilo City, relayed that as per DOE update, a total of 274.64 megawatts have been provided by Panay power plants as of 4 p.m. on Sunday, April 30.

“Electricity production of Panay power plants is slowly increasing since this morning, to maintain the stability of the grid, and we reiterate, prevent possible further damage,” the DOE statement said.

It also asked consumers “to use electricity wisely and conservatively to keep the grid stable”.

The department added that the completion of the Cebu-Negros-Panay 230kV Backbone Stage 3 transmission line project by August as reported by the NGCP and the increased capacity of substations through internal generation within the island are among the identified stable solution leading to the normalcy of the power situation.

The Iloilo provincial government, on Sunday afternoon, also announced that power was restored in the service areas of Iloilo Electric Cooperatives I, II, and III operating in the province early morning of Sunday.

Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Jr, Uswag Ilonggo party-list Rep. Jojo Ang and Treñas met virtually with representatives of the DOE, NGCP, Energy Regulatory Commission and distribution utilities late afternoon of April 29 where strategies to address the series of power outages in Panay and Guimaras were discussed, said a press statement from the provincial government’s Balita Halin sa Kapitolyo on Sunday afternoon.

The local officials called on concerned agencies to “fast-track the repair, rehabilitation, and improvement of the country’s transmission infrastructure, especially the Visayas grid,” the statement added.

Panay and Guimaras islands experienced a power failure on April 27 followed by another blackout on April 28 due to a system disturbance affecting the Visayas grid as per report of the NGCP.PNA